German Shepherds and handlers graduate from CHP academy

California gained some new four-legged state employees Friday morning after five German Shepherds and their handlers graduated from a special course at the Highway Patrol’s West Sacramento academy.

Four of the teams will be assigned to the Sacramento region. The fifth is heading to San Diego for patrol duty along the Mexican border.

The dog’s handlers have between 8 years and 17 years of CHP service. The German Shepherds ages ranged between 18 months and 3 years old.

The canines and their permanent handlers went through eight weeks of intensive training to detect explosives. They joined the ranks of more than 40 CHP canine teams statewide that, along with bomb detection, specialize in apprehending criminals or finding drugs.

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The Sacramento Bee launched The State Worker blog in 2008 to cover state government from the perspective of California government employees. Every day The Bee filters the news through a single question: "What does this mean for state workers?" Subscribe to alerts on state pay, benefits, pensions, contracts and jobs at sacbee.com/newsletters. Twitter: @TheStateWorker.